Who Was My Daughter Waving To?

My family visited the Tybee Island Lighthouse while we were on vacation several years ago. My daughter was five at the time, and she was excited to climb to the top.

She was one of those kids who would talk to anybody, so nothing about what happened seemed unusual at first.

As we were climbing the stairs, she kept stopping every few flights and turning around to wave down the staircase.

The first couple of times I assumed she was waving at people coming up behind us.

I asked her who she was waving to, and she said, “The man.”

I looked down the stairs and didn’t see anyone, but I figured someone had probably just stepped onto one of the landings below us.

We kept climbing.

A minute or two later she did it again.

Big smile.

Little wave.

This time I looked before asking.

There wasn’t anyone there.

I remember saying, “Sweetie, who are you waving at?”

She pointed down the staircase and said, “The nice man. He’s smiling.”

My husband heard her that time too and looked over the railing.

Nothing.

No one coming up the stairs.

No one standing on the landings below us.

The rest of the climb she didn’t say much else about it, and honestly we didn’t make a big deal out of it because she was five. Kids have great imaginations.

After we got back down, we spent some time looking through the museum exhibits before we left.

One display had several old photographs of lighthouse keepers and other people connected to the station over the years.

My daughter walked over, pointed at one of the black-and-white photos, and said, “That’s the man I was waving to.”

Neither my husband nor I knew what to say.

Maybe she was just making a connection that made sense to her.

Maybe she’d noticed the photograph earlier without us realizing it.

I’ve thought of plenty of explanations over the years.

But every time someone mentions the Tybee Lighthouse, I don’t think about climbing all those stairs.

I think about my daughter smiling and waving at someone only she seemed to see.